Best Laid Plans
by Darcy
Summary: Lilah thinks she has Angel just where she wants him, but does she?


Best Laid Plans

A/N – I noticed a lot of people have come up with ideas on how Spike could come back.  Here's mine.

Disclaimer:  Yeah, yeah.  Rub it in.  I don't own them.  I know it.  I know it.

Feedback:  Any and all comments are, as always, greatly appreciated!

"So…it's done."

"Yeah," Lilah replied, squinting at the shadowy figure sitting at the other end of the ten foot long conference table.  He was one of the senior partners of Wolfram and Hart, but all she could see was a big, black outline of a man—or at least, what appeared to be a man.  Flanking him were four other figures, all equally shrouded in darkness.  

Lilah glanced around the cavernous room with mild curiosity.  

_So this is headquarters, _she thought, almost wistfully.  It was her first visit to the central offices of the demonic law firm she'd devoted her career—and life—to.  _So this is where the big boys play.  Where the decisions are made.  I must be moving up in the ranks.  Finally.  Just took a little, well, dying._  _And of course…_

She pushed her chair away from the table and rose to her feet; smirking confidently as she strode over to a dark velvet curtain which was drawn over the rear wall of the room.  She swiveled her head a quarter turn and shot a sideways glance at the W&H partners, then pulled on a silken cord, drawing back the drapes.

Instantly, the room was brightened by a glowing, glimmering object revealed behind the curtain.  Lilah peered over at the W&H big brass, but it was as if they each wore cloaks of darkness.  They were still, just shadows.

Unfazed, Lilah gestured to a glass decanter filled with a shimmering mist.  "Gentleman," she said, plastering a triumphant grin on her face, "I give you…Angel."

The room was eerily silent for a split second, and then she heard the partners whispering amongst themselves.  Whatever they said, it was not for her to hear.  Though she strained to listen, she couldn't make out even a single word.

"So he wore it then…the amulet?" said the same shadowy partner who had spoken before.

Lilah looked a little baffled by the question.  "Uh…yeah."  _Duh!  What was it about "I give you…Angel" that wasn't a hundred percent clear?_

"So you saw him when…it happened," continued the same skeptic.

Lilah frowned.  "Well, no," she said, starting to feel a little miffed by the firm's lack of faith in her.  After all, hadn't she come through for them time and time again?  She was their go to girl…wasn't she?  "I didn't actually see it happen," she continued, "but he took the amulet, just like I said he would, and then he went straight to Sunnydale.  And of course, you all know what happened after that.  I mean, ka boom, even you guys must have heard all the rumblings when the Hellmouth got shut down for business.  Plus, of course, you've got to have noticed that, uh, the world didn't end...?"

"Still…"

"Ah, hell, enough of the small talk," Lilah went on irritably, "Now, unless you're planning to use my ex-nemesis here as some kind of pretty conversation piece."  She paused, glancing at the glowing bottle.  "Actually, it _is_ kind of neat looking.  Beats a wall sized fish tank, I guess…"

"Miss Morgan."

"Right.  Just a thought."  She glanced about at the shadowy figures surrounding the conference table.  "So, do we go on with the grand plan then?"  _Whatever that may be._  "I mean, now that you've got Angel all cleansed and purified and scrubbed and everything.  He's putty in our hands, is he not?"

There were low murmurs, but no reply.

Lilah licked her dry, dead lips.  "So should I open it?"

There was a short pause, then, "Go ahead."

Lilah smiled brightly, then rubbed her hands together in anticipation.  "Well, here goes nothing…"

She reached over and pulled the glass stopper from bottle.  There was a soft hiss as the contents of the container quickly pushed its way out.  A misty column formed next to Lilah, swirling and glowing, and slowly taking shape.  From air, to a soft malleable substance, then at last, to flesh, it formed.

A body, lean and naked, fell at her feet.  Lilah stared down at the stranger with wide eyes and a gaping mouth.

She glanced up at the muttering partners, her look darting from shadowy form to shadowy form.  For several seconds she was uncharacteristically speechless, then she shot them an embarrassed look and shrugged.

"Oops."


End file.
